# What is the first ever clip show? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 15, 2016, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-ever-clip-show/774745 "2016-12-15T03:30:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-ever-clip-show/774745/21 "2016-12-17T00:16:44Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Another note: When I started watching _ **The Untouchables** _ after it was re-released back in the '80s, I was surprised to see it was a Desilu series (I had always assumed it was from Quinn Martin). That was another absolutely groundbreaking show, years ahead of _ **Star Trek** _, _ **Mission: Impossible** _, and _ **Mannix** _. I remember an article in “TV Guide” in the mid 1970s when it returned to the airwaves after the success of “The Godfather”. Desi was responsible for casting Walter Winchell as the narrator. Other people thought he was a washed up relic (and he was) but he was perfect for that role. On the other hand, Desi didn’t like the title “Untouchables”, saying that people wouldn’t understand it since if you look in the dictionary, it means a socially despised group of people in India. The public managed just fine. ``` It is also interesting that Lucille had a lot to do with green lighting both "Star Trek" and "Mission Impossible" Many suits objected to the costs, and they were heavy initially. But Lucille was pretty savvy in knowing what tv audiences would like (until the end of her life with the disastrous "Life with Lucy"). ``` ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-ever-clip-show/774745/22 "2016-12-17T08:04:20Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Desi didn’t like the title “Untouchables”, saying that people wouldn’t understand it since if you look in the dictionary, it means a socially despised group of people in India. The public managed just fine. I always like explaining it meant they couldn’t be bribed. I think this was made clear at the beginning of the series. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-ever-clip-show/774745/23 "2016-12-17T10:09:23Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > I remember an article in “TV Guide” in the mid 1970s when it returned to the airwaves after the success of “The Godfather”. Desi was responsible for casting Walter Winchell as the narrator. Other people thought he was a washed up relic (and he was) but he was perfect for that role. Agreed. I can’t imagine anyone else reading those narrations without it descending into self-parody or being blandly anodyne. Winchell was a voice of the era, stereotyped but authentic, and he provided the right tone for the whole rest of the show. > [@](#): > > On the other hand, Desi didn’t like the title “Untouchables”, saying that people wouldn’t understand it since if you look in the dictionary, it means a socially despised group of people in India. The public managed just fine. What an odd mix of over- and underestimation of the viewing public. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-ever-clip-show/774745/24 "2016-12-17T10:21:22Z")
I wonder how many people remember the first season of _ **Mannix** _, before it became another run-of-the-mill (but still good!) PI series, albeit one with a black single mother as the secretary. Joe Mannix worked for a company called \*\*Intertech \*\*that used computers to fight crime. This was \*decades \*before _ **CSI** _, _ **NCIS** _, _ **Criminal Minds** _, and all their clones. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2016, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-ever-clip-show/774745/25 "2016-12-17T15:44:27Z")
Getting long term residuals still wasn’t a thing actors generally demanded for years later. E.g., Dawn Wells asked for and got full residuals for _Gilligan’s Island_ due to her agent-husband’s know-how. And that was still a rarity in 1964. Recordings of a lot of early British TV shows got tossed/erased not just because of the media/storage costs but because it was considered too expensive to negotiate with actors for continued reruns. (Vs. the old US system where once a show reran a few times the actors usually got nothing more.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-first-ever-clip-show/774745.md?page=1)